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Imprisoned Physicist Honored For Refusing To Work On Iran's Nuclear Program
New submitter I3MOUNTAINS writes "Omid Kokabee, a University of Texas graduate student who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than two years, received the American Physical Society's Andrei Sakharov human rights prize for refusing to collaborate on the country's nuclear program. In May, an Iranian court sentenced him to ten years in prison for 'communicating with a hostile government' and receiving 'illegal earnings.' The so-called 'illegal earnings' were the student loans he received while in Texas."
Any prizes for Mordechai Vanunu?
--Joakim Ziegler
"Iran has been pursuing a kind of uranium enrichment called SILEX which uses carbon dioxide lasers, the same kind of lasers that Kokabee was using in his graduate studies."
This is like saying he was studying computer aided design, and got arrested for refusing to join their computer hacking program, that happened to use similar computer systems.
Just b/c he had used the same kind of lasers, would not of meant he could do anything with uranium enrichment
Islam generally frowns on "usury", so I guess a determined Iranian Religious Judge could easily fudge a conviction with a trumped up charge about that. Islamic Banking jumps through all kind of hoops to keep the Imams happy when making loans and paying interest.
But I'm curious if student loans are a general problem with Islam . . . ? Do pious students avoid them . . . ?
This would be a catastrophe for the US, if it would wake up tomorrow an Islamic Republic . . . all those students saddled with debt that will never be able to pay back would face prison, as well!
My wacky thought for the morning . . .
Foreign citizens are not eligible for student loans in the US. Kokabee probably got some other form of financial assistance like a fellowship or an assistantship. The summary is wrong.
The wikipedia article says he was working on his second PhD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omid_Kokabee
What is the point of getting a second PhD? Other than financial, I don't see other reason to pursue a second PhD. Besides, all the class credits would transfer and you'd basically end up doing research what a post-doc would do but be a PhD student.
What a bunch of BS. there.
I am Iranian scholar staying outside Iran. Your post does not make any sense whatsoever.
This is like saying he was studying computer aided design, and got arrested for refusing to join their computer hacking program, that happened to use similar computer systems.
Just b/c he had used the same kind of lasers, would not of meant he could do anything with uranium enrichment
Yes, because studying the usage and calibration of the exact necessary type of lasers will in no way qualify you to perform a job where you are required to select and calibrate those lasers.
Just because he doesn't know anything about uranium doesn't mean he can't take a sheet of paper from a nuclear physicist saying "set energy output to X for period Y or until target reaches maximum temperature Z."
In May, an Iranian court sentenced him to ten years in prison for 'communicating with a hostile government' and receiving 'illegal earnings.' The so-called 'illegal earnings' were the student loans he received while in Texas."
Let's change that up a bit.
In May, an American court sentenced you to ten years in prison, $1 million in corporate fines, and $250,000 in individual fines; civil penalties up to $55,000 per violation for 'violating trade embargo'. The so-called 'violation of trade embargo' was you visiting your family in cuba and buying a cigar while you were there.
Sorry Iran, US laws are more ridiculous and our penalties are greater.